A Tale of Stones and Dust
by Teacher Bear
Summary: The first day of school is always a milestone in everyone's lives.  From the wrath of a new bully to nature's wrath, Bluebelle and Bess learn that stories are designed to do more than entertain.  Part 2 of the rewrite of Bluebelle, the Teacher's Bear.


**A Tale of Stones and Dust**

Chapter 1: Our First Day

Mrs. Mulcahey awoke early that morning to the ringing of her alarm clock bells. Slowly, she sat up in her bed and stretched the sleepiness out of her arms. She couldn't help smiling as she looked over at her 1938 calendar hanging on the wall, gazing at the words "first day of school" written in red ink. Being an English teacher for the eighth grade, she naturally loved the first day of school. To her, it was the optimal day to put her best foot forward and set a pace for the rest of the school year. Of course, this first day of school was special. Today was little Bluebelle's first day of Kindergarten.

After five years of growing up and surprising the dickens out of everybody, Bluebelle was finally ready for her first day of school. While most people would be uncertain about sending a little blue bear to school, the Mulcahey's felt she was just as ready as any other five year old child.

What surprised everyone about Bluebelle was that she acted just like a normal five year old would. She could walk and talk like a normal human her age did, and she behaved surprisingly like any other little five year old girl would. The neighbors were often in awe of her, even after they had gotten to know her. Those who had never met her could easily mistake her for a child in a costume. The only thing that set her appearance apart from the notion of a costume was the fact that she wore big, brown rimmed glasses to correct mild astigmatism.

Bluebelle would be attending class at St. Nicolas of Tolentine, the local parish where the Mulcahey family normally attended church. Due to Mrs. Mulcahey working for the school district, her children were able to attend at a nice discount. Bluebelle was already familiar with the church and the priests who spoke there since she attended services regularly with her family. The priests already liked her because of her differences and were thrilled to have such a unique student attending this year.

Thanks to Mrs. Mulcahey, Bluebelle was already acquainted with many of the teachers that taught at St. Nicolas. This year, she would be taught by Mrs. Kingston, one of the two teachers that taught Kindergarten. Bluebelle liked Mrs. Kingston and knew her well already, so she was excited to be in her class this year.

Mrs. Mulcahey thought about how wonderful her children were about preparing Bluebelle for school as she took her shower. Francis and Katherine had shared stories about when they were in Kindergarten to help Bluebelle understand what she would be getting herself into. The little bear found the idea of making paper birds, drawing pictures, doing arts and crafts, and learning new songs to be fun, especially since she already liked doing things like that anyway. Mrs. Mulcahey was especially touched by her children's generosity in helping Bluebelle understand what she was going into. She thought about how Katherine had given Bluebelle a necklace that she made when she was in Kindergarten made out of a yellow string with a shiny black button on the end as a charm. She remembered how Bluebelle put on and admired her new necklace as Katherine explained that it would bring her comfort and luck if she squeezed the button in her paw and thought of her family. This would help her feel less lonely if she started feeling homesick, which was something Mrs. Mulcahey was concerned about.

As Mrs. Mulcahey stepped out of the shower, she thought about all that would need to be done that morning before everyone was shipped off to school. She had already packed everyone's lunches, all the school bags were packed with school supplies, the children's school uniforms were setting out waiting to be put on, she knew where the camera was for those first day of school pictures, and the children's school schedules were sitting right by the front door. All that needed to be done was to wake the children.

"Bluebelle, honey. Time to wake up," Mrs. Mulcahey said as she gently nudged the cub. Bluebelle let out a little moan as she rolled in bed, snuggling up close to an older dalmatian dog that the family had named Freckles in her sleep. Freckles had taken on the role of Bluebelle's mother ever since she had adopted the cub by the creek five years ago, and the two shared the bedroom as mother and daughter. Freckles lifted her head up and began licking the bear's face to help wake her up, knowing that the cub needed to be awake for something special. "Mommy…" Bluebelle said sleepily as she wiped her adopted mother's dog slobber from her face. "Stop it, mommy. I'm up."

Mrs. Mulcahey couldn't help laughing at the groggy little bear as she put her glasses on and tried to rub at her sleepy little eyes at the same time. "Are you ready for your first day of school?" she asked as Bluebelle let out a yawn. Nodding, the little cub realized that today had significance. "Yes, Mrs. Mulcahey," she said, sounding surprisingly enthusiastic for someone who had just woken up so early. "I can't wait to meet my new classmates and make all sorts of neat stuff, just like Francis and Katherine said I would."

Outside the door they could hear the other two children rushing to the bathroom door. "You'd best hurry, sweetie," Mrs. Mulcahey said as she got up from the end of the bed. "You want to get your teeth brushed before the bathroom gets all tied up."

Bluebelle jumped out of bed happily. Today she felt important, like a big girl. "Mommy, can you help me get dressed?" she asked Freckles as she held up her school uniform on its hangers. Freckles wagged her tail as she jumped off the bed to help her daughter. Normally, dogs wouldn't know the first thing about putting on clothes, but in her years as Bluebelle's foster mother, Freckles seemed to be getting smarter. She seemed to comprehend things much easier. Her body language improved drastically, which made communicating and expressing herself with her family much easier. She also seemed to get getting better and better at menial chores since Bluebelle's arrival.

Freckles held the wire hanger of Bluebelle's white, button down, short sleeve shirt in her teeth so that the little bear could unbutton it. After it was unbuttoned, Freckles held the collar of the shirt in her mouth so that Bluebelle could slip into it. Once that garment was on, Bluebelle went for her blue plaid skirt. Freckles held one end of the skirt in her mouth while Bluebelle fastened the other end to it. All that remained now was her dark blue sweater vest, her white knee high socks, her black mary-jane shoes, her blue plaid hair bow, and the button necklace Katherine had given her.

After she was all dressed and had brushed her head fur, Bluebelle rushed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She wasn't surprised that she would have to share the sink with her adopted cousins, Francis and Katherine. Francis had just emerged from the shower and had wrapped a towel around his waist as he stood at the sink to brush his hair. He was 16 now and about to start his sophomore year of high school at Roman Catholic High School. Katherine was starting 6th grade at the age of 12 this year up at Epiphany of Our Lord Roman Catholic Church, and she wanted to make sure she looked good as she stood at the sink applying lipstick. Bluebelle had to worm her and her step stool through so that she could brush her teeth.

Mrs. Mulcahey stood in the kitchen with a few plates of scrambled eggs and blueberry pancakes ready for everyone. This was their traditional first day of school breakfast since eggs and blueberries were considered a good "brain food." The children rushed in one at a time after they were done getting ready and were eager to start eating. When the table was full, they said a quick grace before digging in. Even Freckles lowered her head in silence before eating her pancake and scrambled egg out of her dog bowl.

Once the eating began, Mrs. Mulcahey took out the second hand Beau Brownie Camera and started taking pictures. Katherine rolled her eyes as Mrs. Mulcahey told her to smile. "Mom!" she said, setting down her fork with an attitude that only a 12 year old can best express. "I'm eating! I don't want pictures of me eating!" Francis laughed as he wrapped one arm around Katherine's shoulder and stuffed a fork full of pancake in his sister's face with his free hand. "Come on, sis," he teased like any good big brother would. "You need your brain food so you can think about all those boys!" Everyone laughed as Mrs. Mulcahey took a picture of Francis looking like he was trying to feed his sister. "MOM!" Katherine hollered as the camera snapped.

Bluebelle quickly cleared her plate before anyone else did. She was so excited to get to school she could hardly keep still. "Can we go up to Helen's house yet so we can catch the bus to school?" she asked, bouncing about in her seat. Mrs. Mulcahey smiled at the eager little bear who bounced so much that she almost bounced out of her chair. Freckles had to nudge her with her head to keep her in place for fear of her falling and hurting herself. "Calm down now," Mrs. Mulcahey laughed good naturedly. "We'll head out in just a few minutes. I have to put the dishes in the sink while we leave for school. Francis, Katherine, would you mind doing the dishes before you go to school?"

Helping Mrs. Mulcahey clear the table, Bluebelle got herself ready to head out the door. Francis and Katherine started later in the day than Bluebelle did, so they were stuck with dish duty. Bluebelle grabbed an apple out of the refrigerator so that she could give it to the teacher. "Can we go now? Please?" Bluebelle begged, tugging at the end of Mrs. Mulcahey's skirt.

Taking care of chickens was always an important chore on the farm. Eggs were one of the easiest things for farm families to produce in the area that had been deemed the Dust Bowl, so taking care of the chickens was essential for survival.

Out in the chicken coop, a little girl was getting assistance with gathering eggs from a little gray bear. The two laughed together as they watched the chickens fuss in their presence. The little gray bear clapped her paws together loudly to scare the chickens off of their eggs to make collecting them easier. "Hey Molly," she said, clapping her paws so near a chicken that she was almost touching it. "This one ain't scared of anything. Look at this!"

The two girls laughed at the fearless chicken. "She must have a real good chicken under her butt," Molly giggled, poking the chicken in the side to make it move. "She's a real Ma Barker, takin' care of her youngen even when we wanna get at it." The chicken wasn't impressed with being poked or clapped at, and pecked at Molly's hand so that the child would leave her alone. Molly quickly withdrew her hand and examined the little peck mark. The little bear took at look at the peck mark out of curiosity. "It ain't so bad," she said as she looked at it. "Least it ain't bleedin'." Molly licked the mark just to make sure the bear was right. "Yer right, Bess," she said. "I ain't bleedin'."

The two girls continued collecting the meager spoils of the chicken coop, all the while finding things to laugh at about the chickens. Ever since they were babies, the girls had grown up together with Molly's grandparents. The family took Bess in as one of their own after finding her in the barn, and she and Molly shared their growing up together. They shared their bed, their clothes, their few toys, and everything else they could due to them being roughly the same age.

Before they knew it, the girls heard their grandmother calling their names from the house. Molly picked up the bucket of eggs and ran at full tilt up to the house with Bess hot on her heels. Grandma Mavis held out her arms to grab the girls and stop them from running to fast for fear of the eggs breaking. "A'right you two. Enough of that," she said as she held tightly onto the two wiggly little children. "Gimme those eggs. We still gotta getcha washed up and get breakfast in ya so you can go to school."

Today was the first day of school, and the first time going to school for Bess and Molly. They were excited to be attending school for the first time, especially after hearing stories about it from their big brother, Ben. He would share with them all the books and pictures he had been using to learn in school and the girls were excited to have a turn at bringing home things that they learned.

After the children had finished washing up and ate their breakfast, they went out on the porch to wait for the Jamison girls, their neighbors and friends that lived less than a mile away. They would be walking together up to Mr. and Mrs. Hankel's house, one of the few neighbors who owned a vehicle. As a way to help their neighbors and make some extra money, the Hankel's would drive their neighbor's farm goods into town and try to sell them to the market. In exchange for their service, they took a small profit from the exchange. To show that they cared about their neighbors, they agreed to act as a makeshift school bus for the local children in exchange for the commission they took from delivering goods to market. The children appreciated the ride to school, especially since Mr. and Mrs. Hankel would play music for the kids while they were waiting for others to show up.

As the children waited for their friends to show up, they started playing a little game of old maid with a deck of cards that Ben always kept on him. As the children gleefully plucked cards from the pile, they heard someone calling their names. "Hey MacCarthy's!" came a little girl's voice near the porch. "Get packin' an' get crackin'! We gotta get to school!" Ben quickly collected up his cards and smiled at the Jamison girls. "Hi Eleanor. Hi Nell," he said as he put the cards in his school bag that Grandma Mavis had made out of a flour sack. "First day back. You excited?" Eleanor shook her head at the polite question. "No," she said. "Me an' Nell have been workin' on school work all summer between chores, so it ain't much news for us. Mama's been makin' us read an' write an' all like that so's our heads don't go soft. She even got us a new Nancy Drew book that we been readin' all summer."

Nell took the Nancy Drew book out of her school bag. "Y'all can borrow it if ya want," she said, looking at the warn cover. "We've also been learnin' embroidery too. I sewed this on myself. It's awful neat, ain't it?" Nell held up the collar of her hand-me-down corn sack dress to show a fancy looking "N" sewn into it. Bess crowded around Nell to look at her handiwork. Considering the fact that Nell was only 7, her sewing was pretty well done. It wasn't perfect, but it looked nice. "That sure is neat," Bess said, admiring the embroidery. "Can you teach me how to do that? It'd really dress up our clothes." Nell nodded proudly, glad to have the extra attention from her hard work. "Sure," she said, "but we gotta get goin'. Mr. an' Mrs. Hankel don't like it when we're late."

After fifteen minutes of brisk walking, The MacCarthy's and the Jamison's arrived at the Hankel's house. Mr. Hankel sat behind the wheel of his Crossley motor vehicle as he wished everyone a good morning. "Mornin'," Mr. Hankel said, tipping his hat from behind the wheel of his car. "Leave your spoils for the market up on the porch an' hop in back, kids. We're still waitin' on the Adam's kids to show."

In the back of the car sat Jim and Joe, Mr. and Mrs. Hankel's two boys. All of the kids knew each other from growing up, and they were eager to meet the new teacher. They were crammed close together in the back seat of the Crossley, but they soon became comfortable when Mrs. Hankel played her banjo for them as they waited for the others to arrive. Together they started singing along to a twangy rendition of "All Of Me."

Before long, Sally Adams hopped in the back of the car, interrupting everyone's singing. "Hi y'all!" she said excitedly, smiling particularly broadly at Ben. "Been quite a summer, ain't it? I hear the new teacher's not from around here. Daddy says she's from up north someplace."

Returning Sally's smile, Ben patted a spot he made for Sally next to him. "Where's your brother?" he asked as Sally squeezed into the spot next to Ben. After seating herself, Sally's smile diminished slightly. "He's sick," she said. "Mama said he's too sick to go to school, so I got a note from her to bring to the teacher." Mr. Hankel looked over his shoulder at the youngster and her note. "Well, that's everybody," he said as he got the car started up. "Off we go!" Putting the car in drive, Mr. Hankel drove off to the one room school house near town, leaving a trail of dust behind them on the road.

"Smile!" Mrs. Mulcahey said, holding up her Beau Brownie Camera in front of Bluebelle. The little bear stood on the front porch, holding up her apple and smiling as big as she could so that Mrs. Mulcahey could get a good shot of her. Once the camera snapped, Bluebelle jumped up and down with glee. "Now one with mommy!" Bluebelle said, opening her arms for Freckles to come to her. Freckles wagged her tail as she sat next to her daughter, giving the little bear a motherly kiss on the cheek. "Okay," Mrs. Mulcahey said, trying to calm down the little one. "Say cheese!"

After several snap shots on the porch with each member of the family, Bluebelle was finally ready to go to the Belton house to wait for the bus with her friend, Helen. She rushed over to the Belton house with her mother following close behind. "Hi Helen!" Bluebelle said, rushing up to her friend to wish her a good morning. Helen happily waved to Bluebelle when she saw her. "Good morning, Bluebelle!" Helen said as she hugged her little friend. "Are you all ready for school? It's a really pretty day for it. Mommy says we'll be able to go outside for recess when we get it, won't we mom."

Before the girls could continue on very long with their conversation, Mrs. Mulcahey and Mrs. Belton began to take pictures. The two children posed for the cameras, giggling at all the goofiness. After a few minutes of pictures, the bus rolled up to the curb. The girls gave their picture taking mother's big hugs before one last shot of them entering the bus.

Noticing that the bus was already half full, Bluebelle and Helen made their way to the middle of the bus. As they walked to their seat, they noticed several eyes upon them, particularly staring at Bluebelle. The little bear smiled and waved at the onlookers, some of which returned her enthusiasm while others continued to stare.

The bus bounced along as it continued toward its destination, making frequent stops along the way to pick up more kids. Helen and Bluebelle chatted with each other and a few of their other friends sitting near them, each of them enjoying the occasional jostling from the bus by making dramatic bouncing moves. They even started talking to a few kids they didn't know.

As Bluebelle and her friends talked about the latest Nancy Drew novel, she felt something tugging sharply at her ear. "Ouch!" she hollered as she threw her paw over her ear. As Bluebelle looked around to find out what had pulled at her, she saw a fist come knocking against her forehead. "Hey weirdo!" said the owner of the fist. "What are you supposed to be?"

Bluebelle was taken back by the rude behavior. She rubbed at the spot where the rude girl hit her on the head. "Um, my name's Bluebelle Mulcahey," the little bear said, trying to start anew by holding out a friendly paw. The rude girl looked at the bear's paw in disgust, slapping it away from her. "Don't touch me!" she replied, knocking the bear's paw out of her way. "You'd better treat me with respect, animal. I don't like things that aren't normal. I'm Kelly Robeson, and I'm the queen of the bus!"

Bluebelle didn't understand why Kelly was behaving the way that she was, but tried to be peaceful. "Okay…" Bluebelle said, backing away from the bully. She was looking forward to just sitting back down in her seat and talking to her new friends instead of getting picked on, but Kelly persisted. "I'm not done with you yet!" she hollered, grabbing Bluebelle by the collar. "You didn't give me your bus fee!"

Bluebelle looked to her friends, hoping that they would be able to explain what this "bus fee" was. Her friends simply shrugged. Kelly poked Bluebelle in the shoulder, bringing her attention back to her. "You heard me!" she hollered. "Gimme something! Don't make me go get it for you!" "I… I…" Bluebelle stuttered on her words. "I don't… I…"

Kelly knocked Bluebelle over and dove for her school things resting in her seat. She began tearing through Bluebelle's school bag until she found a shiny red apple. Bluebelle let out a horrified noise as Kelly bit into the apple. "That's for Mrs. Kingston!" Bluebelle shouted as she dove for the apple. Kelly spit the apple out all over Bluebelle's face. "You can have it," she said, throwing the apple on the floor. "It tasted like dirt anyway. I don't like you. What are you supposed to be anyway? Some kinda teddy bear?"

Bluebelle stood in shock as the apple rolled on the floor, the bite in it staring at her like a harsh reminder that she was different. She could feel tears rolling down her cheeks, which made her angry because she could hear Kelly laughing at her for starting to cry. Helen wrapped a comforting arm around Bluebelle as she ushered her to another seat. "Don't worry, Bluebelle," Helen said as she grabbed the bear's school stuff for her. "I've got an extra apple in my lunch that you can have. It's not as big as the apple you had, but it's all yours."

Bluebelle clutched at the button around her neck, holding it tight as she thought about the comforts of home. She missed her mother's love, Mrs. Mulcahey's gentle kindness, and the fairness and fun that Francis and Katherine always showed her. Helen tried to cheer up Bluebelle, but even Helen's apple didn't make her feel better. Bluebelle appreciated the gift, but she couldn't get Kelly's words out of her thoughts.

The bus lurched to a halt in front of St. Nicolas of Tolentine, and Bluebelle's stomach began to feel sick. She took a deep breath to try to calm herself, but her calming came to a stop when she felt something hit her in the back of the head. "See you around school," Kelly smirked, sticking her tongue out before hopping off the bus.

Mr. Hankel's car screeched to a stop in front of the little one room school house. All the children slowly hopped out of the back seat of the Crossley car a few at a time before waving goodbye to their driver. Mr. Hankel waved his hand out the window before driving away, leaving a trail of dust behind him as he drove off.

The children talked amongst themselves until they heard the large school bell ringing above them. Everyone rushed in and found a seat at the rows of benches, facing their new teacher for the year. "Good morning," the teacher said in an important tone. "My name is Miss Wiltmeyer, and I will be teaching you all this year. Please pay close attention, children, as I call out your names."

The children stared blankly at their new teacher as she began roll call. "You talk awful funny," one of the students said out of no where, prompting the rest of the class into a wave of laughter. Miss Wiltmeyer eyed the child who insulted her speech and honed in on her like a hawk. "I speak with the accent of a New Englander," the teacher replied. "I understand that you are accustom to the demographics of your home town, but should you venture from this dusty wasteland you will surely discover other ways of speaking. Now what is your name?"

The girl looked down at her table with shame, and softly said her name. "Sally Adams, ma'am," she replied, much to the teacher's delight. Miss Wiltmeyer smiled as she marked Sally's name off of her list. "Robert Adams?" Miss Wiltmeyer continued on with her attendance sheet, speaking loud and clear. "Robert Adams? Has anyone seen a Robert Adams?" As Miss Wiltmeyer looked around the room, she noticed Sally hold up a piece of paper. "Robby's sick at home with the dust flu," she said, handing the piece of paper to her teacher as she approached again. Miss Wiltmeyer looked at the letter, checking for authenticity. If it was one thing she knew, it was the difference between a fake letter and a real one. "I am very sorry to hear about that, Sally," she said, confirming that the note was real. Sally tried to get on the teacher's good side, revealing where she had a few teeth missing in her grin. "That's awful nice of you to say, Miss Wiltmeyer," Sally replied. "I'm Robby's big sister. He's been awful sick the last couple days, coughin' up somethin' fierce."

Continuing on with the roll call, Miss Wiltmeyer was surprised by what she saw when she called the name "Bess MacCarthy." "Here," Bess said, raising her paw into the air so that she could be accounted for. Miss Wiltmeyer blinked as she looked at the little bear sitting squished into a bench near the middle of the classroom. "Well, hello there," she said, staring with pure fascination at the spectacle in front of her. "May I ask where you got such an unusual costume? It must be hot to wear. Would you care to take it off so we can see you?"

Bess looked confused. "But I ain't wearin' a costume, Miss Wiltmeyer," Bess tried to explain. "I'm just wearin' Molly's old hand me downs that she's outgrown. Honest." Bess held the shoulders of her flour sack dress up as high as she could to prove her point, all the while looking sheepishly at the teacher. Miss Wiltmeyer smiled inquisitively at the little gray bear, trying to figure her out. "Alright Bess," she said, "but don't come crying to me when that bear suit gets too hot for you."

Ben raised his hand to address the teacher. "Excuse me ma'am," he said as politely as he could, "but Bess ain't lyin'. She's real like that." Molly nodded in agreement, wrapping a protective arm around the bear that she considered to be her sister. "She's as real as you an' me, Miss Wiltmeyer," Molly explained. "Me an' her grown up together since we was little babies. She's always been like that, honest!"

Miss Wiltmeyer eyed the MacCarthy's suspiciously. "I am guessing by your testimonies that you two are Ben and Molly MacCarthy," she said, looking over the attendance sheet. The two children nodded in unison as they stared back at their teacher. "Well, with such a testimony, I look forward to young Bess showing her authenticity throughout the day."

Bluebelle was relieved to learn that Kelly was in the first grade and not in her Kindergarten class. She began to feel better as soon as she saw Mrs. Kingston, who smiled warmly as soon as she saw the little blue bear enter the classroom. She was even happy to receive the apple that Helen loaned her, even after hearing the story about Kelly. Mrs. Kingston complimented both girls for their kindness. "That was very kind of you to think of me, Bluebelle," she explained, "and that was a generous gesture, Helen. Not everyone would have given up part of their lunch to help a friend in need."

After roll was called, Mrs. Kingston set to work on letting the class get to know each other. She began with playing the name game, a game that not all the children were familiar with. "We'll start with Joey here," she explained, pointing to a little boy near the front. The class slowly joined into her song, singing, "Joey, Joey, Bo-Boey, Banana-Fanna-Fo-Foey, Me-My-Mo-Moey, Joey!" Helen and Bluebelle laughed together as their names were sang, getting a kick out of how some of the children mispronounced Bluebelle's name as "Blueberry."

After the song was done, Mrs. Kingston moved onto reading the class a story. She encouraged the children to sit in the story area next to people they didn't know, which was proving to be more difficult than she had anticipated. Being creatures of habit, the children naturally wanted to sit next to classmates that they already knew. Once everyone was finally settled, Mrs. Kingston began reading "The Little Engine That Could."

Bluebelle loved hearing stories, but she hadn't heard this one before. She rested her elbows on her crossed legs as she listened to Mrs. Kingston read, looking at the brightly colored pictures of the confident little blue train. There was something interesting about this little train and how determined it was to reach its goal, even if the other trains weren't interested. Something about the story reminded her of her arguments with Kelly, and she smiled as she thought about showing Kelly that she could be more than just a weirdo. She just knew he could do it, but how?

Chapter 2: Problems on the Playground

The children were excited to take a recess break, especially since they weren't overly happy with Miss Wiltmeyer. She was a tough old bird, much tougher than the children were expecting her to be. The children weren't much looking forward to having to being instructed by her all school year.

The children basked in the glow of the hot afternoon sun as they ran around the one room school house. Before long, the children broke off into their own groups of friends to play their recess games. The MacCarthy kids grouped themselves with the Hankel boys and Sally Adams so that they could all play marbles in a shady spot behind the school house. After Jim drew a circle in the dirt, Joe brought out his marbles so that the game could begin.

Bending over low, Sally began to line up her shot. "Can ya believe this new teacher?" she said as she shot the marble out of her fingers with a loud snap. "You'd a thought my brother was fakin' the dust flu with the way she was lookin' at that letter. He's got the dust pneumonia. He's coughin' up all kinds a brown stuff. That ain't no reason to pick on him. She ain't ever met him before!" Joe added his agreement as he assumed his marble shooting position,. "I don't believe the way she's treatin' Bess," he said as he shot the marble into the circle, knocking another marble out.

As Joe missed his next shot, Jim knelt down to take his shot. "I'd be mad if I was you, Bess," Jim said as he knocked two marbles out of the circle. "She's all questionin' you an' pickin' on you 'cause you're different. That ain't supposed to be right. Even the bible says it ain't right." "I know," Bess said as she accepted the shooting marble from Jim to take her turn. "It's not nice of her, but I just wanna prove myself to her. Maybe she'll be nicer if she can see I can do stuff like everybody else."

After Bess's turn, Molly took the shooting marble. "I think you're doin' okay," she said as she lined up her shot. "It's the first day of school, an' Ben said it can be tough sometimes." Ben agreed as he watched his little sister shoot the marble. "Yeah, but that ain't an excuse for bein' mean," he explained as he watched the marble roll across the circle without a single hit.

Ben took the marble next, and was able to knock out four marbles before sacrificing his turn. "I just hope she stops actin' like she's better than us," he said a she handed off the shooting marble to Sally. "If she don't stop actin' like she's better than us, she can just go back to where she's from." Sally laughed as she watched Ben imitate the hoity teacher. "Is that how New England people is supposed to act?" she laughed as Ben pretended to put on airs. "Dunno," Ben replied. "All's I know is she's gotta get offa her high horse an' start teachin' us what we outta know."

Sally gladly worked on setting up her shot after taking the marble from Ben. "Say, Ben," she said as she worked on setting up her shot. "It's been an awful tough day, an' I betcha it's gonna get tougher. I could sure use a break when it's all over. You wanna come over an' visit my brother after school? Daddy bought him a new board game we can play together. It's called Monopoly, an' it's real fun." All eyes turned to Ben, who looked a little bit nervous. "Um, sure, I guess," he said, looking a bit red in the cheeks. "If Robby's feelin' better, maybe Molly an' Bess can visit him too. I gotta check with Grandpa first though."

Sally looked slightly disappointed by the prospect of bringing extra people along, but she smiled and agreed to let them all come along. She was just happy that Ben was accepting her proposal for a potential date, even if it meant having it be a group date. She just tried to think optimistically, especially since she was a year and a half older than he was. Older girls asking out younger boys was sometimes frowned upon, so at least the group thing might help ease the prospect of gossip.

The children rushed out to recess, glad to have the chance to run around outside and stretch their legs. Helen and Bluebelle joined some of their new friends for a game of double-dutch jump roping. Holding one end of the rope, Helen began to twirl the rope with another girl. "Ready, Betty?" Helen said as she built up speed in twirling the rope. Betty nodded as she kept the momentum of rope twirling with Helen. "I'm ready," she said. "Who wants to jump first?"

Bluebelle and two other girls started a line in front of the twirling rope, watching in excitement as it whirled around in interchanging circles. At the front of the line, one of the girls jumped into the twirling ropes and began to jump as the other girls began singing a jump roping song. "Lady Alice, touch the ground. Lady Alice, turn around," the girls sang as the girl named Alice hopped around gleefully. "Lady Alice, shine your shoe. Lady Alice, now skidoo!" Being next in line, Bluebelle jumped into the twirling jump ropes as Alice jumped out.

The girls continued singing as Bluebelle jumped out and another girl named Jenny jumped in. The little blue bear was breathing heavily from jumping, but was smiling broadly and singing happily. "Lady Jenny, touch the ground," she sang as she watched Jenny jumping. "Lady Jenny, turn… oh no! Jenny's next to turn the rope!" Jenny blushed after blundering the roping, but gladly took the ropes from Betty so that she could keep the game going.

As Bluebelle hopped around in the ropes again on her second turn, the girls sang another little song. "Mabel, Mabel, set the table. Just as fast as you are able. Shake the salt and shake the pepper. Will Bluebelle be the highest stepper?" Bluebelle jumped around, listening to the cheers and songs of her friends. She was loving hearing the encouragement of friends and the sounds of blossoming friendships. The songs and laughing led her to expect plenty of happy words. What she didn't expect to hear was someone's shrill, insulting voice shouting, "Bear's jump like wusses!"

Helen and Jenny stopped spinning the rope as Bluebelle tripped on them, and all the girls turned their gaze to the mean, laughing face of Kelly and her gang of bullies. The gang advanced on the jump ropers, making them feel uncomfortable. "So," Kelly said, stepping on the ropes and butting in on the jump ropers game, "you all like playing with stuffed animals. What are you? A bunch of babies?" Kelly's gang began to mimic their leader as they pretended to act like crying babies.

The jump ropers looked uncomfortably at each other, each of them taking a turn to look at Bluebelle and feel sorry for her. Bluebelle was furious that her fun time was interrupted by someone bent on insulting her. "So what?" the little bear shouted, balling her little paws up into fists. "We were having fun. That's all that's important. It's recess!"

Kelly was taken back by Bluebelle's sudden shouting, but brushed it off as she coolly approached the little bear. "Yeah," she said, crossing her arms confidently and staring toughly at her target. "Well, I'm the queen of the playground, and these are my knights. We own the playground, and you need to pay your recess fee." Bluebelle recognized some of Kelly's gang from her Kindergarten class, but she didn't want to let that stand in her way of defending herself from Kelly. She stared Kelly in the eye as she mimicked the bully's tough pose. "No!" she said. "We're not giving you anything. Now go away before we tell on you."

Kelly laughed as she looked at her comrades. "You hear that?" she said, getting a collective laugh from the crowd behind her. "The toy's gonna tell the teacher. We'd better take care of her so she learns her lesson." Kelly looked Bluebelle over from top to bottom before noticing the button necklace around her neck. Quickly, she grabbed the necklace and ripped it off of Bluebelle's neck. "Hey!" Bluebelle hollered as she reached for her necklace. "That's mine! Give it back!" Kelly held the necklace high above Bluebelle's head, just out of her reach. "Look, she can't reach!" Kelly taunted.

Bluebelle's friends hollered for her to return the necklace, but Kelly refused. "Take care of these pests!" Kelly hollered to her gang. One of Kelly's gang friends suddenly stopped laughing and looked at his leader. "How are we gonna do that?" he asked dumbly. Kelly turned around toughly so she could make eye contact with her friend. "Take the ropes and tie 'em all up you dummy!" she hollered, kicking the rope below her feet. "Grab them! We'll tie 'em to a tree!"

Kelly and her gang were bigger than Bluebelle and her friends. The girls hollered as the bullies dragged them to a nearby tree. They found tying the girls to a tree difficult due to them wiggling around. Due to Bluebelle's small shape, she was able to quickly wiggle free from her entrapment. "Hey, Kelly!" the little bear hollered from behind the bully, balling up her paws in preparation for a fight. "You want me to give you something? I'll give you something you'll never forget!"

Before anyone could say anything Bluebelle leapt onto Kelly, using her little fists as hard as she could to hit the bully. Being bigger than the little bear, Kelly was able to throw Bluebelle off of her. Hitting the ground with a hard thud, Bluebelle noticed Kelly advancing on her. Kelly expected to throw herself triumphantly onto her victim, but instead she got a hard fist to the stomach. Kelly doubled over upon impact with Bluebelle's little fist, and as Kelly was on the ground Bluebelle continued to punch her in the back over and over. "Give me back my necklace!" Bluebelle hollered as she repeated her punching.

Kelly's friends stood and watched the action, forgetting about the tree tying. They along with Bluebelle's friends cheered on the fight, rooting for who they wanted to win. Other children joined in the circle of spectators, whooping and hollering as they watched Kelly roll over and smash Bluebelle's face into the ground, breaking the little bear's glasses in half. The growing crowd made it difficult for teachers and recess attendants to stop the fight. "Girls!" one of the attendants hollered as she tried to penetrate the crowd. "Stop this fighting immediately!"

As the children played their recess games, they continued to gossip. They discussed things like their teacher's pedigree, Bess's troubles with the teacher, Sally's sick little brother, Ben and Sally's little date, the strange noise coming from the Hankel's Crossley car, the Jamison girls sewing, and the latest music. The nature of rumors being what they were, things went from innocent chatter to wild, untrue stories. Toward the end of recess the children made up stories about their teacher being from royalty, the teacher wanting to turn Bess into a science experiment, Sally's brother dying at home, Ben and Sally kissing behind the school, the Hankel's car being a death trap, the Jamison's dresses becoming something of a new and coveted fashion, and the latest music having bad messages that made them all that much more appealing.

The children's gossip was cut short as Miss Wiltmeyer called them in from their recess. "Time to come in," she shouted over the sounds of the children. "Recess is over. Come inside." She was not impressed by the lazy and apprehensive way the children came back into the schoolhouse, but she was more concerned over the fact that the sky was starting to look a little ominous.

Slowly but surely, Miss Wiltmeyer was able to stop the student's chatter and start reviewing the older children on what they had learned the previous year, all the while trying to teach the younger kids what their older siblings had already known. Many of the youngsters already knew most of their alphabet, but writing words with those letters was proving to be more difficult for the littler ones.

Having learned so much already from her family, Bess knew how to write quite a few words. She already liked writing short letters and drawing pictures for Ben and Molly's parents, so writing was not something foreign to her. She was even starting to gain respect from Miss Wiltmeyer for catching on so quickly, who was still trying to figure out exactly what was the deal with the little gray bear.

"Okay class," Miss Wiltmeyer said as she erased a few words off of the blackboard. "Now that we've gotten our letters down, we'll be advancing to our numbers. Let's start counting from the start to see how high everyone can count." She began writing numbers down on the blackboard as she heard the children recite them. She already noticed several children stop their counting or lowering the volume of their voices around the twenties and thirties, so she knew that she would have to start their math review with low numbers first.

After erasing the numbers from the board, Miss Wiltmeyer began writing addition problems on the board. "Okay, children," she said as she finished writing things on the board. "I'll need some volunteers to try writing the answers on the board. Would anyone like to give it a try?"

Eager to get on Miss Wiltmeyer's good side even more, Bess raised her paw in the air. She wasn't sure if she would get the right answer, but at least she'd try. Miss Wiltmeyer was pleased to see the little gray creature's enthusiasm and picked her to be among the volunteers. Standing next to three other children up at the black board, Bess began trying to figure two plus four.

As Bess wrote down her answer, she noticed the light from the classroom window beginning to fade. She wasn't the only one who noticed the room going dark quickly, and before anyone knew it the room was as dark as night. Outside the classroom the wind howled fiercely, blowing dirt and dust against the windows with great force. It was so dark in the classroom that it seemed as though a giant curtain had been drawn around the building.

Despite being familiar with the dust storms, Bess was still afraid. She had never been away from home when the storms hit, and in her fear she dropped the piece of chalk she had used to write her math answer. Quickly, she ran back to Ben and Molly, hoping that they might be able to comfort her fears.

Acting as quickly as she could, Miss Wiltmeyer lit the kerosene lamps to help calm the children so that they could continue with their lessons. As the light from the lamps illuminated the dark room, the unmistakable sight of dust fog filled the room. "It's alright children," she said as calmly as she could as she handed children clean handkerchiefs to cover their noses and mouths with. "It's just a dust storm. No need to get all riled up." Miss Wiltmeyer was glad to put on her handkerchief, mostly because it helped to cover her scared expression from the students.

Chapter 3: What I Learned Today

Bluebelle was embarrassed to be sitting right outside the principal's office on the first day of school with tape holding her glasses together. Her head hung low as she overheard Principal Morris talking on the phone with Mrs. Mulcahey, who was using the telephone in her classroom to speak with the principal.

It was hard to sit there with a strait face as she heard the principal call her a "strange animal" into his telephone, especially with Kelly sitting so close to the door that she could hear the conversation too. Kelly seemed to get a sick thrill out of hearing the principal call Bluebelle something horrible. She looked over at Bluebelle and ran a finger against her throat while mouthing, "You're dead meat." Feeling anger begin to well up inside her again, Bluebelle tried to look away from Kelly and take a few deep breaths. She figured that getting into another fight would be pointless, especially right in front of the principal's office.

After fifteen minutes of waiting and listening to the principal's voice behind the door, Bluebelle noticed Mrs. Mulcahey's face in the doorway window. She shrank in her chair as Mrs. Mulcahey opened the door to the seating area in front of the principal's office. Since Mrs. Mulcahey did not teach at the same school, she had to have her teacher's aid watch after her students so that she could drive down to Bluebelle's school. She would have entered with quiet shame had it not been for bumping into a large construction worker. "Ma'am," he said half heartedly as he walked passed her. Mrs. Mulcahey nodded half heartedly as she made her way to sit next to Bluebelle, who looked scared to see her. Mrs. Mulcahey looked upset, and Bluebelle could tell. The little bear stared at her knees as they sat together, finding it hard to find words that she could say to her guardian.

Meanwhile, the construction worker had his eyes set on Kelly, who now took a turn shrinking in her chair. "Daddy…" she said, looking at her folded hands instead of her father. He had a hard look on his face as he smacked her on the shoulder. "What have you done now," he said toughly, his actions clearly making his daughter scared. Kelly winched as she held her smacked shoulder. "Nothing daddy," she said defensively. "It was the bear's fault." Kelly's father let out a flustered breath. "Don't lie to me," he said with a heavy breath. "You know how much I hate it when you lie." Kelly stood up and walked up to Bluebelle, pointing accusingly at her. "She's right here," she said, pointing at the embarrassed bear.

Bluebelle looked up at Kelly's father shyly as he stared confused at her. "Hello Mr. Robeson," she said sheepishly, hoping she wouldn't upset him like she seemed to be doing with Kelly. He simply stared at her, lost for words. "Wh… what…" he tried to say, before Bluebelle decided to finish his sentence with "What happened?" He nodded at her, still lost for words. Bluebelle looked over at Kelly apprehensively before she tried to answer.

Before the conversation could go any further, Principal Morris stepped out of the office. "Thank you for coming, Mr. Robeson and Mrs. Mulcahey," he said, trying to sound pleasant. "Would you all mind stepping into my office? I'm afraid we have much to discuss about the girl's recent scuffle."

Everyone walked somberly into the principal's office under the false smile of Principal Morris. "Take a seat," he said, trying to sound pleasant. "Girls, I would like to hear from you both what happened. Perhaps we should start with Miss Robeson." Bluebelle was surprised that he wanted to start with the bully first, but Mrs. Mulcahey held onto Bluebelle's knee to stop her from protesting. Kelly smirked at the little bear as she began her story. "She's a wild animal sir," she said dramatically. "She viciously attacked me on the bus after I asked her for her apple, and then we got into a fight on the playground. Just look at how scraped up my elbows are!"

Bluebelle tried to take a deep breath to keep her temper, but the more over dramatic Kelly was, the harder it was for her to hold her tongue. Thankfully, Principal Morris noticed Bluebelle's expression before she could let her temper get the better of her. "Miss Mulcahey," he said, addressing Bluebelle. "Do you have a rebuttal?" Bluebelle quickly nodded, afraid to look overdramatic like Kelly did. "Kelly stole my apple on the bus this morning," she tried to explain as calmly as she could. "Kelly and her friends tried to tie me and my friends to a tree with a jump rope. She stole my necklace and we fought, and she broke my glasses." The little bear pointed to the tape holding the nose bridge on her glasses together to try proving her point. Principal Morris looked at Kelly, who had a guilty look on her face. "Do you have her necklace?" he asked, crossing his arms in disappointment. Kelly smirked as she dug into her pocket. "It's just a stupid button on a string," she said, trying to sound tough as she threw the necklace at Bluebelle.

Mr. Robeson looked disappointed at his daughter, who avoided his gaze. Principal Morris shook his head as he wrote some things down in Kelly's file. "Caught red handed," he said as calmly as he could, "and lying about it on top of it. Why Miss Robeson?" Kelly tried to look innocent again, which was an act so sappy that her father couldn't help rolling his eyes at his child. "I'm really sorry, Principal Morris," she said in the cutest way she could. "Maybe my daddy can make it up to you. He's awful good at building things you know."

Mr. Robeson stood up angrily at his daughter's response, but Principal Morris gestured for him to sit back down. "I am aware of your father's talents," he said to Kelly, "but you must learn that what you did was a mistake. Miss Mulcahey may be a little bit… different… but taking things and causing fights on the playground is no way to behave. I'm afraid I'll have to give you a detention after school is over. In the mean time, the two of you girls are dismissed to go back to class. Mr. Robeson, if you don't mind, I'd like to discuss some of the repairs that have been neglected over summer vacation…"

Mrs. Mulcahey walked quickly, not wishing to further discuss the situation. Bluebelle tried to keep up with her, hoping to talk to her. "Mrs. Mulcahey," she said nervously, feeling uneasy over her pace. She was surprised to see Mrs. Mulcahey stop so suddenly. "Go back to class, Bluebelle," she said slowly, selecting her words carefully. "We'll be discussing it when we get home." Before Bluebelle could say anything else, Mrs. Mulcahey walked out the sitting room door, turning one last time to give Bluebelle a sad look.

Bluebelle sighed deeply of with a mixture of relief and new worries. She looked up at Mrs. Mulcahey as she walked passed her, hoping to see a positive look on her guardian's face. Instead, she saw a stern look on Mrs. Mulcahey's face as she made her way to the door. "We'll talk at home," was all she said before closing the door behind her.

Though Bluebelle was upset for making Mrs. Mulcahey angry, she couldn't help smiling at her dumb luck concerning Kelly still having her necklace. Her joy was cut short when Kelly punched her in the shoulder. "This isn't over," she said meanly, grabbing Bluebelle by the collar. "You're lucky my daddy does so much maintenance on the school, or else you'd have been thrown out! Nobody wants a freak like you here."

Bluebelle was scared of the way Kelly was holding her. She didn't want to believe what Kelly was saying, especially since she had put her through so much already. She hated how Kelly tried to get into her head. "HELP!" she hollered, trying to get others attention so that she wouldn't have to get into another fight.

Mr. Robeson and Principal Morris popped their heads out of the office, shocked at the sight of the two girls tangled into another potentially messy situation. Mr. Robeson grabbed his daughter's shoulders so hard that she let out a painful yelp as Principal Morris held Bluebelle back. "Go to class Miss Mulcahey," he said, not taking his eye off of Kelly. "We have business to attend to here."

Miss Wiltmeyer tried to continue keeping the children's minds occupied with lessons, but the more she tried to cram into their worried little heads, the more they seemed to grow weary of her meager distractions. With each passing math problem their attention seemed to drift further and further from their lessons. The only thing that seemed to get their attention was the sounds of birds flying blindly into the building. Ben was writing ticker marks on a sheet of paper for every time he heard the sound of a bird hit the school house. Molly and Bess would smile and gently elbow him at the noises, coaxing him to add more ticker lines to his paper.

Miss Wiltmeyer noticed that the children were becoming increasingly distracted by the birds hitting the building and paying less attention to their math problems. "Come now children," she said, her hands falling to her sides in disappointment. "It's just a few birds having a hard time flying. What could be so humorous about that?"

Ben couldn't help laughing at Miss Wiltmeyer's reaction to the birds hitting the building, especially as one smacked into the building as she spoke. "Grandpa Roy says the birds fly backward in dust storms," he said, thrilled to use the opportunity tell one of his grandfather's tall tales instead of continue on with the exhausting school work. "He said they'll do that to keep the dust outta their eyes. I betcha their runnin' butt first into the school." Joe gave Ben an encouraging slap on the shoulder. "Mama says they gotta wear goggles so they can see," he added to Ben's story. "I betcha they can't see with all the dirt cakin' up their goggles."

The class let out a laugh at the old story that had been passed around so much throughout the area. Miss Wiltmeyer was surprised to see the sudden change in the children's morality. "You know children," she said, a lilt of whimsy in her voice, "I have heard rumors of groundhogs digging up into the air, finding the thick dust to be similar to the ground they call home. Can you believe that?"

The children were surprised to see what looked like a smile underneath Miss Wiltmeyer's covered face. Before they knew it, they could hear Miss Wiltmeyer laughing, which made them laugh along with her. Jim Hankel was especially curious about the newfound playful stories. "You know anymore wind stories Miss Wiltmeyer?" he asked, hoping to continue the enjoyable break.

Their teacher stood for a moment, stroking her covered chin in thought. "You know, I do," she said encouragingly. "Why don't we take a break from this monotony for a moment and have some story time."

The sounds of happy classrooms gently reverberated within the hallways as Bluebelle slowly walked back to her class. As she walked passed a classroom door, she couldn't help noticing seeing a smiling teacher and several raised hands. She remembered seeing things like this as a child whenever Mrs. Mulcahey would bring her by for a visit and how often she dreamed about being a part one of those cheerful classrooms. Now the sight of it made her feel like she didn't belong there.

Kelly's words continued to throb in Bluebelle's mind like an aggressive headache. "You don't belong here… You're a freak… Nobody wants you here…" The continuing thoughts and the distant happiness she observed with every passing classroom made her feel isolated, like a dirt spot that needed to be cleaned away from a crystal piece. As she reached the end of the hallway and looked up at the door to her Kindergarten class, she had a hard time wanting to go back in. "What if they don't want me there?" she thought to herself as she slowly reached for the door knob.

The knob on the door felt cool to the touch, cold as though it too didn't want her. In spite of where her paw was, Bluebelle didn't have the heart to open the door. She removed her paw and stood staring at the door knob. Inside the classroom she could hear the children laughing and chatting as they worked on a craft project. They sounded happy, and Bluebelle felt as though they would be just as happy without her there.

Slowly, she backed away from the door. Biting down on her lower lip, she looked around for a place where she could go, somewhere no one would mind if she went. Seeing a door at the end of the hallway that lead to the school parish church, Bluebelle decided to take sanctuary there. Running as quickly and quietly as she could to keep from being heard, the little bear hoped that she could find comfort there.

She gently opened the door to the church, hoping beyond all hope to find the familiar comfort that the church normally gave her as she looked around at the holy surroundings. She had always found a sense of solace whenever she came to church with her family, but being in the church by herself made her feel more solemnly observant than anything. She had never comprehended how worn this place was. For the first time in her life she noticed how the finish on the pews seemed to have been rubbed away in the spots where people normally sat. The carpet looked like it had been scuffed by several pairs of feet, some areas with holes that looked like they had had some makeshift repair work done to them with stitching, glue, and tape. The hymnals and the kneelers looked like they had seen better days, some ends having received the same repair job that the carpet had endured. Even the holy water basin had developed a few stubborn rust stains near the edges. The appearance seemed to match her mood, and just looking at it made Bluebelle wonder if she wasn't the first one to come here alone looking for answers.

Her slow, observant walk lead her to the statue of Jesus toward the front of the church. Remembering the biblical stories about Jesus that she had heard all her life, she thought it best to speak to the statue of Jesus about her problems. Even her Sunday school teachers would have to agree that talking to Jesus would make her feel better, especially since they talked to her so much about talking to Jesus.

Bluebelle knelt before the statue and began talking to it. She felt as though staring right at Jesus was disrespectful, so she held her head down and held her paws together in prayer to show Jesus she really wanted to be respectful. "Hi Jesus," she said shyly, stealing a peak at the holy relic plastered to his cross. "I know I've prayed to you before I go to bed all the time and we sing to you on Sunday, but I wanna talk to you now if it's okay. You see, there's this bully…"

When she had finally finished talking to the statue, she hoped that some kind of biblical miracle would happen to help her feel better. Instead of getting something of a comforting answer, she received the blank unchanging gaze of Jesus's marble eyes staring back at her from his cross. With her hope waning, Bluebelle began to get teary eyed. She didn't know what else to weep in the lonely emptiness of the church. If Jesus didn't want her there, where else could she possibly go?

The children got up from their seats and gathered around Miss Wiltmeyer, taking their places on the dusty floor in front of their teacher. She was thrilled to see the excitement on their cloth covered faces, but she had to try to keep her composure in order to keep them from chaos. After all, she was the teacher. "This is a story by a man named Aesop, a Greek story teller who lived many, many, many years ago," she began. "This story is called 'The North Wind and The Sun.' It begins with the with the Sun and the North Wind having a discussion about who was strongest."

Bess loved hearing stories from Grandpa Roy all the time. He was a wonderful story teller, and his stories were usually very silly and found ways to cheer her up. She hadn't heard many other people tell stories, especially from someone who came from so far away from where she lived. She wondered what kind of story this was going to be, and if she'd like it as much as she liked hearing stories from people she knew well.

Miss Wiltmeyer continued to tell her story, speaking clearly and articulately so as to be heard over the wind outside, the cloth on her face, and the sound of the occasional bird hitting the building. "As the two conversed over their strength," she continued, "they saw a young man traveling along the road. They decided to use him to test their strength, each betting that they could make him remove the traveling cloak he was wearing."

The children laughed as they watched Miss Wiltmeyer try to imitate a large wind cloud blowing down onto the traveler, finding it funny that as she blew her handkerchief away from her mouth as she imitated the wind. "As the wind blew harder and harder to try to strip the traveler of his cloak, the traveler wrapped his cloak tighter and tighter around himself to keep warm," she explained, much to the children's delight. "Once the North Wind had blown himself out and was too tired to continue, the Sun took his turn. Gradually he began to shine brighter, making himself warmer and more brilliant as he tried to make the traveler remove his cloak." The sounds of the wind gusting against the school house added to the drama of the story, which thrilled Bess. She couldn't believe how someone she didn't quite understand could make such a great story teller.

Stretching her arms above her head, Miss Wiltmeyer began to imitate the sun. The children began to admire the pantomime as their teacher continued on with her story. "The Sun waited patiently, watching the traveler sweat," she explained. "Eventually, the traveler needed to sit down and rest under the shade of a tree. As he rested, he slowly began to remove his cloak."

The class let out a collective cheer for the sun. Even Miss Wiltmeyer's voice sounded more cheerful as she finished the story. "The Sun had won the bet!" she said, her voice rejoicing in the victory. "He looked to the embittered North Wind, explaining to him that persuasion is better than force. It is kindness, gentleness, and persuasion that win where force fails."

As the story came to its end, Bess noticed what looked like a stream of sunlight. "Look!" she shouted, bounding up from her place on the floor and running up to the window. "The storm's breaking up! The sun's coming out, just like in the story!"

Everyone rushed to the window, even Miss Wiltmeyer, to see the change in the weather. Sure enough things were starting to clear up, revealing a fresh coat of dust all over everything. In spite of this, everyone was thrilled that they could safely go outside.

As the children prepared themselves to leave the school house, Miss Wiltmeyer removed the handkerchief from her face and put back on her serious face. "Children," she said seriously, "you have homework."

The class let out a collective groan at the prospect of homework. Miss Wiltmeyer smiled at the reaction, breaking the serious look on her face. "It will be due by next week," she explained. "I would like for you each to make up a story about the wind. Write it down as best as you can. If you need help, feel free to ask me. I want you to remember that stories are told to help teach lessons, so be sure to try to teach your fellow classmates something in your stories. Now enjoy the rest of your day."

Part of Father Thoma's normal weekly routine was keeping the church clean. He did this to help the parish from needing to hire a cleaning lady, therefore saving the parish some much needed money. As he opened the doors to the church with his bucket full of cleaning supplies, Father Thoma was surprised to hear the sound of crying echoing gently throughout the empty church. "Hello?" he said as he looked for the source of the crying. "Who's there?"

Bluebelle looked up from her weeping, surprised to hear someone had come in. "I'm over here," she said unsteadily, her voice still reacting to her emotions. She felt embarrassed to have been caught feeling so weepy, especially by her respected parishioner.

It did not take long for Father Thoma to find Bluebelle kneeling before the statue of Jesus's crucifixion. He set down his cleaning supplies on a pew and held out his arms to the sad little bear. "What's wrong my little dear one?" he asked as he hugged the little bear. "I thought you would be in class by now. Isn't today your first day of school?"

Father Thoma knew Bluebelle very well. She and her family had been attending his church for years, and he thought of her as a delightfully unique addition to his parish. He always enjoyed her enthusiasm for attending, and found it refreshing how much zest she had for life and for learning the scripture. He loved when she and her family would talk to him after church, and he especially loved how Bluebelle would tell him about everything exciting going on in her life. Seeing her in such a state as she was in now disturbed him, and he hoped that talking would help her feel better.

Drying her eyes with the back of her paw, Bluebelle began to explain what had happened to her throughout the day. She explained the repetitive fights that she had had with Kelly and everything Kelly had said to her. She told Father Thoma about how she had lost her temper and gotten into a fight at recess, resulting in her having to go to the principal's office with tape holding the bridge of her broken glasses together. Bluebelle finished off her tale of troubles with how she decided to come into the church instead of going back to class, hoping that her chat with the statue of Jesus would make everything better. She explained how after praying she was very disappointed that Jesus hadn't made her feel better.

Father Thoma felt sympathetically for the little creature, allowing her to become emotional as she sat next to him in a pew. "I can understand how you would be upset, my dear one," he said, consoling the little bear. "We have all had moments in our lives when we've prayed for miracles and felt like our prayers haven't been answered for a long time. It's something we all must go through in order to test our faith. Even I have had these feelings before, but I know that God does this to everyone." "But you're a priest," Bluebelle replied weakly, surprised to have learned that Father Thoma had had a similar experience. "You talk to Jesus all the time. How could he not answer your prayers?" Father Thoma cupped Bluebelle's chin in his hand so that he could look into her sad little brown eyes. "We all hope for good things to happen in life," he explained, smiling tenderly. "Sometimes they just don't happen like we hope they will, and other times God answers our prayers in ways we never thought possible. Those are times when we get tested to see what we're made of, and to show how strong our faith is. Bullies are just one of those things that test our faith, like how David was tested by Goliath."

Though Bluebelle had heard the story before of David and Goliath, she asked Father Thoma to tell it to her. She enjoyed listening to the understanding tone in his voice. "It happened a very, very long time ago," he began. "The Israelites were at war with the Philistines, and the Philistines boasted about their prized fighter, a giant man named Goliath. Everyone was terrified of Goliath, and he reveled in his power over others due to his reputation. Much like your bully, he taunted the Israelites with mean words and got into fights with them."

Bluebelle hadn't thought of Kelly being like Goliath before. Sure, Kelly was much taller than she was, but that didn't seem to surprise her since most of her friends exceeded her height. "So Goliath and the Philistines were like Kelly and her mean friends?" she asked innocently. Father Thoma nodded, smiling as he thought of the little bear building a connection to the story and her situation. "In a sense, yes," he said. "David did not like how Goliath treated the Israelites due to their faith, so he stood up to the bully, only he did not use the weapons that others would have normally used."

Being somewhat familiar with the story, Bluebelle began to smile. "He used his slingshot," she replied, a smile sneaking in. "That's right," Father Thoma said, smiling back at her. "And he struck him down with nothing more than a simple stone. After he was downed, the Philistines were so terrified that this little boy could take down a giant man that they fled from battle."

Father Thoma accentuated the terrified look of the Philistines, which made Bluebelle laugh a bit. "So you see, God does have a way of answering our prayers," Father Thoma said, concluding his story. "In this case, God took a small person, much like yourself, and gave him an untraditional means of taking down his enemy. Others would have though that David would have used a sword and heavy armor, but he followed his heart and had faith in what was right. It was that strength in faith that brought Goliath down."

Bluebelle thought of the story, trying to find a way to use what she had heard to help better her situation. "So I should throw stones at Kelly next time she picks on me?" she asked, hoping her answer was suitable. Father Thoma let out a good natured laugh at the innocent answer. "Heavens no, my dear one," Father Thoma replied with a good hearted smile. "Instead, you should consider your strength in faith and what kind of tools God has given you to use in certain situations, much like how David did."

Bluebelle finally had an answer, and she was thrilled to have it. "Thank you Father Thoma," she said, giving the old priest a hug. "I guess you coming in here was one of those things you said God does to answer prayers sometimes. I wasn't expecting to see you, and here you are."

Father Thoma felt humbled by the little bear's comment. "God does have a way of doing things that amazes even me sometimes," Father Thoma said, smiling tenderly down at the little bear. "In the mean time, my dear one, we should probably think about getting you back to your class. You don't want to get into too much trouble in one day."

Chapter 4: Choosing Your Stones

The chickens rushed around the hen house the next morning, kicking traces of dirt out of their nests as Bess and Molly worked to gather their eggs. Molly picked up a brown egg from under one of the chickens, comparing the color to the dust surrounding it. "Hey, ya think Miss Wiltmeyer'll like a story about the wind turnin' eggs brown?" she asked, admiring her clever idea. Bess took the egg from her sister and placed it with the other eggs in the basket. "Could be. I like it," she said encouragingly. "I wish I had an idea for my story. I can't think of nothin' to tell." Molly smiled at her little bear sister in order to encourage her. "You'll think of somethin'. Ya always do," she said, adding a few more eggs to the basket. "Speakin' of Miss Wiltmeyer, we'd better get goin'. We don't wanna be late for school."

Ben sat on the porch with a pad of paper and a pencil, watching his little sisters rush toward the porch with their basket of eggs. "Careful!" he shouted, trying to slow the girls down. "If them eggs fall in a gopher hole, they'll hatch underground an' they'll think a gopher's their mama. Then they'll start poppin' their heads outta the ground all confused." Molly loved thinking of chickens poking their heads out of the dirt. "Maybe that's where brown eggs come from!" she exclaimed, adding to her brother's story.

Grandpa Roy smiled at the silly stories his grandchildren were telling. "Is that what you're bein' taught in school?" he asked, taking a seat next to the kids. Bess hopped onto her grandfather's lap. "We're supposed to make up stories about the wind an' the dirt, an' then we gotta write the stories down," she explained. "Today we'll be talkin' about our ideas, an' Miss Wiltmeyer'll let us work with each other on writin' 'em down." Grandpa Roy smiled at the little gray bear bouncing on his knee. "So what's your story 'bout?" he asked, noticing the little one's expression turn a bit concerned. "I dunno," Bess replied sheepishly. "I haven't got my idea yet."

Grandma Mavis walked in on everyone's chattering. "Talkin' 'bout stories?" she asked, wiping her hands on her apron. "We'll have to have story time when y'all are done with your homework. Mean time, I'll need some of them eggs to make y'all some breakfast. The rest gotta go to Mr. Hankel so he can take 'em into market for us. If we're lucky, we'll get a good price for 'em. Now who's ready for some eggs?"

Bluebelle and Helen stood nervously at the bus stop, hoping that their second day of school would be more peaceful than their first. Bluebelle had talked to Mrs. Mulcahey about what she and Father Thoma had talked about, and together they thought ignoring Kelly would be Bluebelle's best idea. Mrs. Mulcahey figured that the attention was what Kelly thrived on, causing her to want to pester others. Bluebelle and Helen had spent the morning talking about how they were going to try avoiding Kelly, hoping that their plans would work.

The bus pulled ominously up to the curb. Bluebelle gulped nervously as the bus door slid open. Helen patted the little blue bear on the back before taking a step onto the bus. "Come on," she smiled, holding her hand out to her little friend. "You don't wanna be late for school, do ya?"

Helen led Bluebelle to a seat near the front of the bus. "This looks like a safe spot," she said, letting Bluebelle have the window seat. "If Kelly starts anything, the bus driver can stop her quickly. Okay?" "Good idea," Bluebelle said, happy to know her friend had a plan in mind and was looking out for her. "Kelly's a couple of stops from here anyway, so maybe we can get some more friends to sit around us before she gets here."

Betty, Jenny, and Alice were at the next stop with a few other kids, all of which were more than happy to surround Bluebelle and Helen. All the kids at that stop had been talking about Bluebelle's fight with Kelly, and they were eager to surround the brave little bear. After sitting right in front of Bluebelle, Jenny peeked her head up from her seat so that she could smile at her little blue bear friend. "I heard Kelly got in a whole lot of trouble," she said. "My brother's in her class, and he said she's got detention for a whole year! Is that true?" Bluebelle blushed and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she replied. "All I know is that I don't want to talk about Kelly. Why don't we play a game instead, like 'I Spy' or something. The less I hear about or have to deal with Kelly today the better off I'll be."

The girls quickly got into a spirited game of I Spy, looking for things out the window to spy upon so that they could avoid looking at Kelly getting on the bus. Kelly of course noticed Bluebelle immediately, looking forward to another day of tormenting the little blue bear. "Hey freak!" she hollered as she stepped in the isle of the bus. "You got me in trouble you ugly freak bear! I'm gonna get you for that!"

Kelly expected to see Bluebelle react to the threat, but was surprised to see her continue to look out the window with her friends. "Hey! I'm talking to you, weirdo!" she continued to shout, elbowing her way up to Bluebelle. "You deaf or something? I'm mad at you!"

Bluebelle felt Kelly hit her in the back of the head, which was something hard for her to ignore. Letting out a deep sigh, Bluebelle looked to her friends for comfort. "I spy, with my little eye, something big and loud," she said to her friends, smiling slightly at how she handled the situation. The girls laughed at Bluebelle's clever joke, and started to play along. Helen pointed at an insect that had landed on the ceiling of the bus. "Is it that fly?" she asked overdramatically. Bluebelle laughed and shook her head, acknowledging Alice for a response. "Is it these torn up, squeaky seats?" she added with a snide smile at Kelly, lifting some of the chair stuffing up in her hands to add some insult to injury. Bluebelle laughed at the wad of chair stuffing, but shook her head again. Betty took the wad of stuffing, stretching it out so that she could see through it. "I think I spy it," she said, putting emphasis on the word "it." "It's Kelly! I can smell her from here. I wonder if her Dad even makes her bathe."

The girls let out a collective laugh as Kelly grumbled. "At least I take a bath!" Kelly hollered, reaching for Betty. Betty threw the seat stuffing at Kelly, laughing at how it landed in her hair. "Hope you like your new hat," Betty mocked. "It's like what your poor daddy can't buy you." Kelly leapt over the seat and lunged at Betty, nearly knocking over Bluebelle and Helen. "Say that to my face!" Kelly hollered, grabbing Betty's shirt collar threateningly.

The bus driver abruptly pulled over and stopped the bus. "Miss Robeson!" she hollered, grabbing the youngster by the back of her shirt. "No jumping around on the bus! This is not the play ground young lady. I'll be reporting you to the principal once we get to school."

Ben, Bess, and Molly walked up to the Hankel's house with Eleanor and Nell, each of them exchanging their ideas for their stories they had to write for school. Nell was wearing another one of her hand-me-down dresses that she had decorated with fancy stitch work. "Look at the bottom of the dress!" she exclaimed, pointing at the embroidery she had done. "It's all fancied up with little fleur de lis's. Mama says the fleur de lis is a French lily." Eleanor showed her friends the ends of her sleeves. "Nell even made 'em on my dress too," she said. "Nell's handy work is part of my story for Miss Wiltmeyer. I'm gonna say that Nell's makin' the dirt talk French with her fancy French stitching."

As the kids made their way to the Hankel's house, they noticed Mr. Hankel leaning over the open hood of his Crossley motor vehicle, looking at his engine and speaking coarsely to the machine. Jim and Joe waved at their friends as they ran up to the truck, wincing at the sound of their father cursing and throwing a wrench to the ground. Jim picked the wrench up for his father, giving him a weak smile as his father took it from him. "Hi y'all," Jim said as his father went back to working on the car. "The Crossley's stalled, an' dad's tryin' to fix it. Bunch of dust got in an' there's a part that's stuck tight, so dad can't get to it. Looks like we'll be walkin' to school."

The children let out a collective sound of disappointment at the news, but quickly quieted themselves at the angry look Mr. Hankel gave them. "Sorry kids," he said, sighing loudly in hopes of trying not to sound too frustrated. "The damn Crossley's not runnin' today. We'll be lucky if it's runnin' at all after all the dust it's been eatin' up lately."

To apologize for the missed ride and for her husband's rude language, Mrs. Hankel gave each of the children a piece of a boiled potato sprinkled very lightly some sugar. "Hope y'all like it," she half smiled as she gave them the snack, knowing that she and her husband would have less to eat for lunch due to the truck troubles. "It ain't candy, but we hope ya like it. Maybe we'll have the Crossley up an' runnin' tomorrow."

Molly looked down at the basket of eggs she had carried from home. "What'll happen if Mr. Hankel can't get the car up an' runnin'?" she asked, handing Mrs. Hankel the basket of eggs she had brought for the Hankel's to sell in town. Mrs. Hankel looked down sadly at the basket of eggs, hearing her husband blurt out another obscenity. "It'll be an awful waste of eggs," she replied, thinking of how disappointed her neighbors would be at the news.

Bluebelle and her friends peeked through the bottom the principal's window blinds as they waited for the morning bell to ring, signifying the start of school. The principal was talking to Kelly and Betty, Kelly trying her hardest to pour on the charm. The girls laughed at Kelly's pitiful display, Alice taking the opportunity to imitate Kelly's behavior in a comical way. "What a looser," Alice chuckled. "I betcha Principal Morris is gonna expel her and make her daddy work until his arms fall off." The girls laughed at Alice's joking, Jenny laughing the loudest. "If her dad keeps taking off work to keep coming up to the school, he'll probably loose his job," Jenny said, laughing so hard that she began to make snorting noises.

As Bluebelle took a break from her spying in at Kelly's misfortune, she noticed Kelly's father pull up in his pick-up truck. "Hey! He's here!" she said, pointing at the worn looking truck. "Boy, he's gonna be real mad when he sees Kelly. I bet she'll be in for a whooping!" Jenny laughed at the angry look on Mr. Robeson's face through the foggy glass of his truck window. "Look how mad he is," she snickered as the truck made an ill noise before shutting off. "I bet he'll make Kelly work on the school with him. Won't that embarrass her real bad!" Bluebelle couldn't control her laugher. "Boy, I'd love to see that!" she said, bursting with laugher. "Wouldn't it be funny if we took pictures of her working with her dad on the school and put those pictures all over the hallways? She'd be so embarrassed that she'd never want to show her face again!"

Father Thoma overheard the children's laughter, noticing that they were standing in front of the principal's window and pointing and laughing at Mr. Robeson as he opened his truck door with a loud squeak. He shot them a disappointed look as he walked up to them. "Girls!" he said, sounding angry and disappointed at the giggling girls. "I am surprised at you all. You're normally very well behaved young ladies."

Bluebelle was embarrassed to have been caught by Father Thoma, especially since he had worked so hard to comfort her the day before. "Well," she said, trying to look innocent, "Kelly's been mean to all of us. We're just acting like David and Goliath, and we ignored Kelly in order to keep her from picking on us. Then she got in a fight with Betty on the bus and they're in the principal's office. Now she's in trouble and we're having a little laugh, that's all." Father Thoma shook his head sadly at the little bear. "I expected better from you, my dear one," he said, sounding very disappointed. "Of all the people, I would have thought you would have learned from what we had talked about. Two wrongs don't make a right you know." Bluebelle lowered her head in shame, looking to her friends for support. "I'm sorry," she said, gently kicking a clump of dirt on the ground. "It's just that Kelly got in trouble on the bus this morning after we ignored her. She got all mad and tried to fight with Betty, and that's why she's in the principal's office."

The priest knelt down so that he could be at the girl's level. "Bluebelle, do you remember what I said about how David defeated Goliath?" he asked, giving the little blue bear a soft look. Bluebelle nodded out of guilt, not wanting to look Father Thoma in the eye due to her behavior. Father Thoma sighed deeply, disappointed that Bluebelle wouldn't answer him. "Unlike the other Israelites who took to protecting themselves with force, David defended himself with his faith," he explained. "In faith, you can choose your best weapon for defense, one that can help weaken the bonds of anger and bring about peace. Sin begets sin, my dear children."

The girls collectively looked guilty, apologizing to Father Thoma. "Be sure to remember this, dear ones," he said, looking down sternly at the lot of them. The girls all replied with a weak "we will" and Father Thoma gave them all the sign of the cross before walking away. The girls all breathed a sigh of relief once the parishioner walked away, hoping that what they were doing wouldn't get them in trouble.

Mr. Robeson walked passed the guilty looking girls. He noticed the girls begin to eyeball him, and he wondered why they were standing in front of the principal's office. He shot them an indifferent look as he walked near them, headed for the front door of the school. The girls tried to look innocent as Mr. Robeson walked passed them. Alice rolled her eyes at Mr. Robeson's look as he walked into the school. "He's not the one who has to deal with her like we do," she said, crossing her arms and looking tough. Bluebelle let out a weak chuckle as she rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said, thinking about what Father Thoma had said to her and her friends. "I just hope Kelly doesn't try to take it out on us later."

Despite running as fast as they could, the children were still late for school. Miss Wiltmeyer watched the children dash into the classroom, out of breath and full of sweat. Miss Wiltmeyer let the children in, trying not to make a big deal about it. The children on the other hand were a bit distraught by the fact that they were late. "We're real sorry!" they apologized in unison, tugging at their teacher in apology.

Miss Wiltmeyer held her hands up to calm the children down. "One at a time!" she exclaimed, looking to one of the children to reasonably explain the situation. "Bess. How about you. Would you mind explaining what is going on, and slowly so that I can understand you."

Bess whipped a dusty clump of sweat from her forehead. "Well, Miss Wiltmeyer," Bess explained as his friends and siblings calmed themselves down, "we get a ride from the Hankel's dad, only the Crossley he drives ain't workin' right. We had to run all the way here to get to school, an' that's why were so late."

Though she understood, Miss Wiltmeyer still had to make sure the children knew it was bad to be late. "I pity your situation," she explained, "but you still need to be punished for your tardiness. I'd like for you to stay in during recess to clean up the classroom."

The children let out a collective sound of disappointment, but Miss Wiltmeyer smiled at them regardless. "It won't be so bad," she explained. "Besides, it might help you come up with ideas for your stories. You did come up with ideas for your stories, didn't you?"

Bess averted her gaze at the mention of the stories, but most of the rest of the children were eager to share their stories. "Wonderful," she said enthusiastically, glad to know that the children had wanted to do their homework. "In the mean time children, take your seats. Would anyone like to share their story idea first?"

The bell rang for recess, and the kindergarteners of St. Nicolas of Tolentine got up from their lessons to go outside. Alice and Jenny grabbed two jump ropes for double dutch, inviting Helen, Bluebelle, and Betty to play. As Bluebelle helped Jenny turn the ropes, they noticed that she just didn't have the same enthusiasm she had this morning that she did the previous day. "What's wrong?" Jenny asked, stopping her rope spinning. Bluebelle shrugged her shoulders as she stopped her spinning. "I don't know," she sighed. "It's just I've been thinking about what Father Thoma said this morning about how we were laughing at Kelly."

The girls looked at each other and Betty started to smile. "You're still thinking about that?" she said, smiling broadly. "Don't worry. I found out Kelly's in trouble and we're not. She's in the in school suspension room right now for getting into a fight with me on the bus. That's why I got called into the principal's office this morning."

In spite of this news, Bluebelle didn't feel much better. "Yeah, but what about what Father Thoma said?" she commented. "He said we used the wrong kinds of stones to take her down. What if we're in trouble with God, and what if Kelly tries to get us for getting her in trouble?"

The girls hadn't thought how mad God might be, and how Kelly might take it out on them later. Betty was particularly worried due to the fact that she had passed by the in school suspension room and laughed at her before going back to class. "We've got to do something!" she exclaimed, worry crackling in her voice. "Maybe we can get some real stones, like David did with Goliath! Do you think she'll fall down and never get back up?" Betty began picking up stones frantically and putting them in her pocket until Helen grabbed her hands. "I think that'll just make her madder," she explained, much to Betty's dismay.

Alice thought about the idea of stones. "Do you think he was using stones as a way of saying something else?" she thought aloud, trying to explain a metaphor as best she could. "Maybe we can find some way of telling her that we're sorry, like give her something so she'll be forgiving. Then maybe she won't want to fight with us." The girls liked the idea of trying to make Kelly not want to fight them, but what could they give her that she couldn't take from them for herself?

Together the girls thought about what to give Kelly, and walked around the play ground for ideas. Helen suggested flowers as she picked a daisy from near a tree, but Jenny reminded her of how Kelly liked tearing the petals off. Bluebelle thought about drawing Kelly a picture, but Alice figured Kelly would ball it up unappreciatively. Sally found a stray candy that had dropped from someone's pocket and suggested it to be a gift, but the other girls figured it could have been anywhere gross between now and the time it got lost.

The girls were beginning to give up hope when suddenly something shiny caught Bluebelle's eye. "Hey, look at this," Bluebelle said as she uncovered a bright red button with a gold elephant printed on it. "I bet we can make her some button jewelry like the necklace she tried to take from me the other day. Do you think she'll like that?" Helen looked at the shiny button, admiring the colors. "We'll need to clean it off, but I think it's the best idea we've got," she said, smiling at her little friend. "I think Mrs. Kingston has extra buttons in her craft stuff, so we can all make something."

As recess was in session, the tardy students were kept inside. They were handed rags and brooms to clean up the classroom, taking the opportunity to think about their tardiness. To show that she could be understanding, Miss Wiltmeyer grabbed a rag for herself to help the children. As she dusted off a high shelf, she began talking to the children. "So you say that your ride to school is not working?" she began, hoping to get the children talking.

Everyone looked to the Hankel boys for an answer. Jim set his rag down, thinking about his father cursing. "The Crossley's stalled," he explained. "Dad said there's dust in part of the car that's makin' it run bad, an' he can't get in there to fix it 'cause the gear's too stuck to fix it." Joe agreed with his brother, thinking of the foul language his father had said that morning. "He said it's eatin' too much dust," he added. "He also said some words I never heard before. Maybe you know 'em, Miss Wiltmeyer. Do you know what a…"

Miss Wiltmeyer had to keep Joe from asking her the meaning of certain curse words. "Those are things that you should not say in polite company," she replied, holding her hand over the child's mouth. "As for the car, I wish you all the best of luck. Do any of you know what part of the car is being affected by the dust inhalation?" None of the children knew anything about vehicles. Taking a stab at the car part, Bess raised her paw. "I think it's the car's tummy," she said sheepishly, hoping that cars stomachs. Mrs. Wiltmeyer couldn't help chuckling at the innocent guess. "I didn't know car's had tummies," she said with a giggle as she opened the window to shake the dust from her rag. "Are you planning on making your story about trucks eating dust, Bluebelle?"

The more Mrs. Wiltmeyer talked about the truck's dust consuming, the more she liked the idea. "Yeah, I think I will make my story about how cars eat up dust," she replied proudly. "I'm thinin' they get tummy aches and don't work, just like the Hankel's car ain't workin' right now."

The idea of a car getting a stomach ache made Miss Wiltmeyer smile broadly and laugh heartily. "That is a very unique idea," she replied. "How would you propose to cure a car with a dusty stomach ache?" Bess set down her rag to think up an answer. "Make dad Mr. Hankel it?" she guessed. Joe shook his head and took his rag to pop his friend in the head. "Nah," he replied. "Dad's prob'ly at home hollerin' at it right now cause that part's stuck an' he's sayin' all those bad words." Miss Wiltmeyer could see the Hankel boys thinking about a solution to the story, noticing them using their cleaning rags to hit each other as a way of thinking. "Maybe you should spend less time thinking about your accurate hits and more time think about what remedies your family uses on you whenever you get a stomach ache," she suggested. "Can any of you name me some remedies for a stomach ache?"

Molly raised her hand in the air to make a suggestion. "Grandma Mavis gives us castor oil whenever we get a tummy ache," she explained, looking a little grossed out. "The stuff's awful, but it loosens ya right up an' makes your tummy stop hurtin'." The children laughed because each of them had had to take a spoonful of castor oil a few times before. Joe stuck his tongue out as he laughed, thinking about the taste of the stuff. "With how that stuff tastes, ya'd think it'd work on anything," he said. Jim laughed at his brother's expression. "Ya think it'll work on the Crossley?" he asked.

Just then, Miss Wiltmeyer got a thoughtful look on her face. "Jim, what part of the car is giving your father trouble?" she asked. Jim looked at his teacher with intimidation. "I dunno," he replied. "I just seen daddy hollerin' at the bolts is all. I don't know nothin' about a cars innards." To set her pupil at ease, Miss Wiltmeyer sat down near him so that she could be on his level. "It's alright, Jim," she said, trying to console him. "I had thought perhaps if a bolt was stuck, your father might benefit of some castor oil."

The children laughed at the idea. Ben slapped his knee at the thought of gruff old Mr. Hankel taking a swig of the stuff. "You think maybe he's just cranky from a tummy ache, Miss Wiltmeyer?" he asked, popping his rag outside the window. Miss Wiltmeyer shook her head in amusement. "No," she smiled, "but the car could possibly use a dose on the part that seems to be stuck."

The laughter stopped at the suggestion. With a dropped jaw, Molly asked what her teacher was implying at. "Quite simple," Miss Wiltmeyer said instructionally, happy for an opportunity to teach the children something new. "Oil can be used as a lubricant to loosen things that are stuck together." Molly looked at each of the children in confusion, each of them returning her look. "Miss Wiltmeyer," Molly asked, "what's a lubricant?"

Seeing that she would have to better explain herself, Miss Wiltmeyer looked for something with a screw on it. "Take this old broom for example," she said, holding up one of the brooms she had given the children to use to clean up. "Why don't you children try pulling the handle off."

Glad to have the opportunity to try to impress the teacher, Jim and Joe each took an end and tried pulling the broom apart. After an unsuccessful try, they asked their friends to join them in pulling the broom apart. Miss Wiltmeyer smiled as she watched the children looking like they were playing a game of tug of war with the broom. "Okay children, now we are going to add some lamp oil to the coils that hold the broom to its handle," she explained as she put a few drops of lamp oil into the connecting coils. "Now try pulling it apart."

The broom once again in their grasp, the children teamed up to try pulling it apart. With a few good pulls, the broom came apart. Bess was in awe as she took the bristled end of the broom in her paws. "How'd you do that?" she asked, giving the broom end back to her teacher. Accepting the broom piece from her student, Miss Wiltmeyer began examining how she would repair her now disassembled broom. "Perhaps we should discuss it with the rest of the class," she suggested. "After all, recess is over."

Bluebelle and her friends had each taken their lunch period to make button jewelry for Kelly. Along with the jewelry, they made an "I'm Sorry" card with a box of crayons and the help of their teacher, Mrs. Kingston. Together they had wrapped everything up in notebook paper and tape, coloring it with crayons to make it look presentable. All that remained was giving the gifts to Kelly.

When the school bell rang, all the kindergarteners rushed outside so that they could go home for the day. Bluebelle and her friends lagged behind so that they could wait for Kelly to get to her detention before getting on the bus. They walked to the detention room together, looking hesitantly at the detention students as they walked in. Kelly noticed the girls as she made her way in, shocked to see them standing there. "What are you doing here?" she said toughly, crossing her arms threateningly. "You all in trouble too, or are ya here to get me all riled up?"

Standing in front of her friends, Bluebelle held the gifts behind her back so that she could better surprise Kelly. She was afraid of Kelly just taking them without her giving a proper apology, but as Kelly stood glaring before her with her tough expression, the little bear found it hard to even move. "Well, no, I," Bluebelle started, trying to find the right words to say.

Before Bluebelle could find the right words to respond, a teacher came between her and Kelly. "Ladies," she said calmly, eyeing Bluebelle and her friends authoritatively. "Unless you would like to join in on detention, I would suggest you leave." Kelly looked up at the teacher, her cheeks reddened with anger. "You saw them, Miss Brown," she said as the teacher took her hand. "They were trying to get me all riled up again so they could get me in trouble. Why aren't they in trouble too, Miss Brown?"

Without a word, Miss Brown closed the door to the detention room. Bluebelle stared at the door, still trying to think of something to say or something to do. She could feel one of her friends coming up behind her and tap her on the shoulder. "Hey," Helen said, still tapping Bluebelle on the shoulder. "Why didn't you give her the presents? She was right there!" Jenny nodded in agreement, looking judgmentally at Bluebelle. "Yeah, she was," she explained. "What happened? I thought you said this was the right thing to do."

Bluebelle looked shamefully at the ground. "I don't know," she said, taking the messy paper package she and her friends had made from behind her back so she could look at it. "I just got nervous I guess. She was so tough looking, and I was afraid she wouldn't like it after all the hard work we did. Do you think she's really mad?"

Betty understood her friend, and showed her compassion by wrapping an arm around Bluebelle's shoulder. "I don't know," she said, trying to smile in spite of how she was feeling. "All I know is you gave it your best shot. I know I'd have been nervous too if I was in your shoes." Knowing that someone felt the same was a small comfort to Bluebelle. She smiled appreciatively as she held the package close. "Maybe we can try again tomorrow on the bus," she suggested, smiling at her friends. At the mention of the bus, Jenny got a worried look on her face. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "We're gonna miss the bus! Hurry!"

The girls ran down the hallway as fast as they could toward the front door of the school building, just in time to see the last bus roll out of the parking lot. In spite of how much they waved their arms about, the buses would not stop for them. Each heaving heavily from their unexpected run, they watched the last bus disappear around a corner. Jenny threw down her school bag in frustration. "Great," she said sarcastically between her fast breathing. "What are we gonna do now?"

Miss Wiltmeyer was able to keep her student's attention for the remainder of the day with experiments in lubrication. The children enjoyed experiments in oiling the windows to make them raise and fall better, fixing the squeaky door hinges, and playing tug of war with an oiled broom handle. She even had the children race items from the classroom across the table with the use of lamp oil. It had been a very informative afternoon for her students, if not a messy and wasteful one. To make up for the waste of lamp oil, she offered to give students extra credit for bringing in more lamp oil to replace what had been used during lessons.

Now that lessons had come to an end, the students were dismissed to go home. Though they were enjoying what they were learning, the MacCarthy's and Hankel's were excited to be leaving so that they could show off what they had learned in school on Mr. Hankel's automobile. Together they walked as fast as they could to get to the Hankel's house, which was no easy task since the house was well over four miles away from the school house. After their long walk was done they approached the hollering and cursing Mr. Hankel, who was still bent over the Crossley car and cursing just as loudly as they had left him.

Joe rushed up to Mr. Hankel, eager to share what he had learned in school in an attempt to help his father. "Hey dad!" he exclaimed to his father, whose head was still deep in the hood of the car. Not noticing his son until being touched, he quickly shot up his head in shock, knocking his head on the hood of the car. "Ow!" he hollered, grabbing his throbbing head. "Boy, damn it. What the hell are ya doin' that for? Ya scared the livin' hell outta me with your hollerin'."

In spite of Mr. Hankel's yelling, Joe was still eager to share the class's idea to fix the car. "Dad," he began, "we talked about it in class, an' we think the Crossley's got a tummy ache. I betcha we can fix it." Less than impressed with his son's sudden creativity, Mr. Hankel took of his hat and bopped his son on the head with it. "Go check on your mother," he said, putting his sweat soaked hat back on his head. "We got enough damn problems goin' on around here without addin' more to 'em. Maybe y'all can cheer her up with your stories."

After being scolded by Mr. Hankel, the children rushed up to the porch to greet Mrs. Hankel. The children found her pacing back and forth on the front porch, her face wracked with worry. She had spent the day trying to console her neighbors who had brought their produce to her for shipment to town, and the stories of their concern had really gotten to her. Her neighbors were depending on the income she and her family brought them by bringing whatever produce they could grow on their dried out properties to market, and she was afraid of the loss that not delivering the items would bring. It also didn't help that her husband had spent the entire day hollering and cursing so loud that the neighbors were genuinely scared.

In order to calm down their pacing mother, Joe and Jim brought her to a step on the porch to sit down and listen to them. Jim rushed into the house to grab his mother a glass so that he could get her some water from the pump. Joe sat next to his mother, holding her sweaty hand and smiling broadly. "Guess what mama?" he said excitedly, an expression his mother did not return. "We told our stories today at school, an' the teacher liked 'em. She liked Bess's a whole lot. She even used her story to teach the class today."

Mrs. Hankel pat her son on the head absentmindedly as she got up from her seat on the step. "That's nice dear," she said, eyeing her husband as he yelled yet another loud obscenity at the Crossley. Bess grabbed Mrs. Hankel's other hand in an attempt to get her attention. "You wanna hear my story Mrs. Hankel?" he said, tugging on the worried woman's hand. "It's about the Crossley. Miss Wiltmeyer said the story might be able to fix the car if ya give it a listen."

At the mention of the car being fixed, Mrs. Hankel's attention went from her frustrated husband to the eager gray bear. "Ya know how to fix it?" she asked, a twinge of desperate excitement in her voice. Bess nodded her head happily as Jim ran up with a glass of water for his mother. "My story's about the Crossley gettin' a tummy ache because of the dust," she said, watching the enthusiasm fade from Mrs. Hankel's face as she spoke. "Ya know how whenever ya get a tummy ache ya gotta take a swig of castor oil? Well, Miss Wiltmeyer said we should give the Crossley a spoonful of castor oil on the stuck part so Mr. Hankel can get at the part that ain't workin'. Ain't that clever?"

Mrs. Hankel rolled her eyes sorrowfully as she took the glass of water her son had brought her. "Is that so," she said doubtfully. "Bess, cars ain't got stomachs to ache. How does yer teacher think that'll work?" Bess smiled awkwardly at her friend's mother as she stared blankly at the foggy brown water in the glass. "Well, the castor oil's supposed to loosen the stuck part," she explained hesitantly. "It's like how ya use oil on a squeaky door, or to loosen a stuck window. If we put castor oil on the part that's stuck, maybe it'll help loosen it up so Mr. Hankel can get to the part that ain't workin'."

All of the sudden, Mrs. Hankel's face brightened up. "Jim, go get a spoon an' the bottle of castor oil," she said, hope returning to her voice. "If this works we'll be getting' the produce into town an' everyone'll get their money okay." Jim rushed into the house to fetch the castor oil and a spoon to administer it to the car. He could see his mother looking almost excited as soon as she saw the tell tale bottle in her son's hands. "Lord I hope this works," she said as she took the bottle from her son. "We ain't got much to lose if it don't."

Mr. Hankel was surprised to see the group coming up to him as he wiped sweat from his face with a handkerchief. "Woman, what in blazin' hell are you doin' with that bottle of castor oil?" he said as he shoved the moist handkerchief into his back pocket. Mrs. Hankel smiled weakly as she looked down at little Bess, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement. "We got an idea," she said as she removed the cork from the bottle of castor oil. "You been workin' them stubborn bolts all mornin' an' ain't a one of 'ems movin'. If we wet 'em down with oil, it might loosen 'em up."

Mr. Hankel looked doubtfully at the bottle as his wife poured a spoonful of castor oil. "How's medicine gonna make these bolt move?" he asked as his wife poured the oil onto the bolts. "That stuff's for loosenin' up your innards to make ya go when ya can't. Last I checked cars don't use the out house." Mrs. Hankel got a smile at the mental image of a car in the out house as she finished pouring oil on the troubled bolts. "With the way you been workin' an' your mouth's runnin' I'd think you'd be up for anything," she said as she corked the bottle. "Now, work that oil into the bolts an' give it a go."

Taking a defeated sigh and doing as his wife said, Mr. Hankel grabbed his wrench to give the bolts another try. He wasn't expecting them to move any more than they had earlier. "Here goes nothin'," he said as he got the teeth of the wrench around a bolt. With a mighty heave and a few bad words, Mr. Hankel was surprised to feel the bolt turn. "Sweet sassafras! It worked!" he said with a triumphant holler. A few more twists from the wrench and the first bolt found its way off of the car. "I don't believe it. Who's idea was this?"

Everyone looked to Bess, who blushed humbly at Mr. Hankel. "I had some help with the idea," she said, looking to her siblings and friends. "If ya hadn't had the problem, we wouldn't have talked to the teacher about it." Mrs. Hankel pat Bess on the head to thank her. "We shouldn't have underestimated ya, lil' darlin'," she said appreciatively. "If it weren't for you, we might not have fixed the car. We sure owe ya one." Ben beamed proudly at is little bear sister. "Wait 'til Grandpa Roy hears about this one," he said with a big brother's smile. "You just made up a tall tale that worked real good!"

Bess thought about what her brother said. "Yeah, I did," she said proudly. "It's like what Miss Wiltmeyer said. She says stories are told to help teach lessons." Molly chuckled happily at the idea of a child teaching an adult something new. "An' they say we kids don't know nothin'," she said enthusiastically. "I guess you showed 'em what's what." Bess blushed with all the praise. "Speaking of what's what," she mentioned, "all the stuff that's been brought up here needs to get to town. We aughtta help get it ready so it can get to the market."

The children sprang into action as Mr. Hankel removed the last stubborn bolt from the car. "Y'all better hurry," he said teasingly. "If ya ain't quick enough, the Crossley'll be fixed an' ready to go without ya! It's taken a might dose of castor oil, an' it'll be ready to hit the road so it can feel better in no time flat." Bess laughed as she and her friends helped load up the car. "Say, that reminds me of a story," she said as she grabbed a jug of milk. "Once upon a time there was this cow…"

Deciding it best to wait for Kelly to get out of detention, Bluebelle and her friends kept themselves entertained while they waited by drawing on the playground pavement with classroom chalk that Mrs. Kingston let them use. They had hoped that the drawings would distract Kelly long enough for them to properly apologize and for them to give her their apology presents. That and they were enjoying the opportunity to do artwork all over the ground.

The fun and chalky chatting came to a brief halt when they heard a familiar voice from behind them. "Hey!" came Kelly's angry voice from behind them. "What are you all still doing here? Didn't Mrs. Brown tell you to go home, or are you too stupid to listen? You want me to beat some sense into your heads?"

Bluebelle gasped at the sound of Kelly's voice. She was having so much fun with her friends that she almost forgot about why she had stayed after school. The reality of the matter felt like it came crashing down upon her as she turned to see Kelly's cross armed stature standing right behind her. "Um, hi Kelly," Bluebelle said sheepishly, looking up at her bully with apprehension. "We don't want to fight or anything. We just wanted to stay after school so we could talk to you… if that's okay."

Kelly looked sideways at the little blue bear, wondering if this was some sort of trick. "I got nothing to talk about with you," she said sourly, putting emphasis on the word "you" so that she could look tough. "You got me in trouble, and now I gotta have detention all week because of you. You and all your funky little chickens here." Bluebelle could see Kelly balling up a fist defensively, readying herself for another brawl. "I'm really sorry," Bluebelle said as she looked around for the gift package she and her friends had made. "We just wanted to apologize for what happened. We don't want to start anything else, and we made you a…"

Before Bluebelle could reach the gift, Kelly picked it up off the ground. "What's this?" she said in a huffy tone, shaking the paper package as if she could hear what it was. Bluebelle's eyes widened as Kelly handled the package roughly. Helen noticed Bluebelle's fearful expression and stood before her little friend to help her feel safer. "It was Bluebelle's idea," Helen explained bravely. "She felt bad for how we made you feel this morning, and she wanted to help us all to make it up to you." Betty even felt bold enough to walk up to Kelly. "We're all really sorry," she said, trying to smile at Kelly's sour look. "We were gonna just let it all go and let you stay mad at us, but Bluebelle thought it was a good idea to listen to the priest and be good about it. She even had the idea of making you a present, and she thought really hard about something you'd like. Go ahead and open it."

Kelly looked over the group of smiling girls as though they were going to trick her. She didn't know what to think of the apology, especially since she didn't often get that kind of treatment at home or anywhere else. "I don't know," she said as she played absentmindedly with a small tear in the notebook paper wrapping. "How do I know it's not a rock or a bunch of trash? How do I know it's not all just a big joke?" Bluebelle was almost shaking with nervousness as she watched Kelly crumple the gift in her angry fists. "Well, I guess if you want help unwrapping it I can help you," the little blue bear offered. "That way you won't think we're trying to trick you or something." Kelly stared down forcefully at Bluebelle. "It's my present!" she hollered impatiently. "I'll open it when I want!"

Feeling the pangs of peer pressure upon her, Kelly quickly and carelessly tore through the notebook paper wrapping, making sure to show her attitude. She was expecting to see a pathetic little thing that she could easily tear apart so that she could show her dominance. What she didn't expect to see was something thoughtful. "What is this?" she said as she held up one of the gifts, her expression genuinely inquisitive instead of angry. Bluebelle cautiously cleared her throat as she approached Kelly. "It's like my necklace," she said as she held onto the button charm on her necklace. "Since you wanted mine so much, I thought maybe you'd like one too. We all made you something with buttons so you could have more than me. There's a ring, a hair pin, and two bracelets in there too, so they can match. I thought it might make you feel better."

Kelly slowly put the necklace around her neck, examining the simple yet thoughtful craftsmanship. "It's okay," she said, trying to sound tough as she slipped the bracelets on her wrist and the ring on her thumb. Alice smiled as she took a mirror out of her school bag. "You wanna see how you look?" she said a she offered her mirror. Kelly snatched the mirror out of Alice's hands and stared at the reflection, trying hard to suppress a smile in order to keep up her tough girl image. Jenny smiled as Kelly tried not to. "You need some help putting the pin in your hair?" she offered. "I think it'll look good on the left side of your hair." Kelly handed the pin to Jenny with a hard thrust. "I want it on the right side," she said with a demanding tone, hoping to sound obstinate.

Shortly after Jenny had put the decorated hair pin in place, the girls could hear the honking of a vehicle. Kelly's father was pulling up in his broken down work truck to pick up his detentioned daughter. Kelly let out a disappointed grunt as soon as she saw the truck pulling up. "Bye," she said quickly and roughly, pushing the girls out of her way so that she could grab her school bag and get into the truck quickly.

Bluebelle let out a sigh of relief as she saw Kelly get into the cab of the truck. "Well, that went over better than I thought," she said hopefully. Helen grinned at her little friend for helping them bring about some peace. "I think you should to tell Father Thoma all about the this next time you see him," she said. "I bet he'll be really proud of you, and he'll probably say you chose some good stones to throw." Bluebelle beamed at the mention of Father Thoma. "You really think so?" she asked eagerly, glad to know that what she did was a positive thing. Helen returned the smile with a delighted laugh. "Knowing Father Thoma, I bet he would," she replied.

The girls watched as Kelly's father backed his truck out of his parking spot, listening to the high pitched squeak of the brakes as he tried to ease on them. They each waved as they walked away from their chalk artwork to grab their school bags, surprised to see a smile on Mr. Robeson's face as he and Kelly waved at the girls. Before the truck left the parking lot, they heard Kelly's voice hollering over the ill sounds coming from the truck's engine. "Hey!" she shouted from the open window within the cab of the truck. "You guys want a ride home?"

The girls smiled at the opportunity to have a ride home instead of walking the whole way. They were even pleasantly surprised to see Kelly hop out of the cab in the truck to lower the door on the truck bed. "Watch out for the paint cans and boards," she said as she moved a few things around. "Dad's been working on City Hall. It'll look good when it's done because my dad knows how to do stuff like that." Bluebelle was impressed with the project that Mr. Robeson was working on. "I didn't know he was doing that," she said encouragingly as she watched her friends effortlessly hop into the bed of the truck. "Last time my family and I were there for a Neighborhood Watch meeting the water fountains weren't working. That and the paint's been chipping for as long as I can remember, and there's some cracked windows near the back. That place needs a lot of work."

Kelly watched as Bluebelle struggled to get into the bed of the truck. Due to being so short, the little blue bear couldn't quite reach. Rolling her eyes, Kelly hopped out of the bed of the truck to help. "Here," Kelly said, giving Bluebelle a rather forceful boost. "You're hopeless, you know that?" Bluebelle looked embarrassed at the word "hopeless," but she was equally surprised to see Kelly actually smiling. Was she joking?

To put the bear's mind at ease, Kelly gave her a gentle nudge on the shoulder. "Good thing you got tall people around," she said as she pulled the door to the truck bed shut. "Now who lives where? Me and daddy aren't mind readers, you know."

To be continued…

Works Sited

Most important to me is giving credit to whom it belongs.

Father Mulcahey is my favorite character from the very popular television show M*A*S*H. His sister Katherine, also known as Sister Angelica, is only mentioned in the show, mostly through the mail. (Those letters were nicknamed 'nun-o-grams" rather than telegrams.) M*A*S*H is loosely based on a real Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (the 8055th) in Uijongbu, South Korea that was stationed three miles from the front lines of battle during the Korean war, 1950-1953. M*A*S*H also happens to be my all time favorite television show, although that doesn't keep me from loving the Care Bears!

Although M*A*S*H was very successful, all good things must come to an end. After an impressive 11 season run, M*A*S*H concluded. Some of the actors in the show did not like seeing the show end and were able to persuade the directors to create a spin off show that came to be called After M*A*S*H. After M*A*S*H was not nearly as successful as its predecessor and was canceled during its second season.

The Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins are property of American Greetings and Nelvana, as you all know.

I got the name "Bluebelle" from my mother. That's what she called her first car.

I got the name "Bess" from a cow. Best I could come up with considering the bear's surroundings.

St. Nicolas of Tolentine is a real church. It was established in 1912, and is considered an authentically Italian parish. I embellished some on the school for writing purposes.

Roman Catholic High School is an all boys Catholic high school founded in 1890.

Epiphany of Our Lord Roman Catholic School is a Catholic middle school founded in 1889.

Kate "Ma" Barker was an American criminal from the "public enemy era" of the 1930's, a time when the exploits of gangs and criminals gripped the American press. Other criminals who became media moguls and folk heros were John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde.

Beau Brownie Camera is based on the popular Brownie Camera produced between 1930 and 1933. The Brownie camera is a long-running and extremely popular series of simple and inexpensive cameras made by Eastman Kodak. The Brownie popularized low cost photography and introduced the concept of the snapshot.

Crossley automobiles came into light in the 1920's. They are best known for Bonnie and Clyde's "Death Car," but also for being popular cars that land owners used to leave the Dust Bowl after they lost their property. More information on Crossley vehicles can be found here: .

"All of Me" is a popular jazz song written by Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons in 1931.

Nancy Drew is a fictional detective character created by Edward Stratemeyer. The character of Nancy Drew first appeared in published books in 1930.

"The Little Engine that Could" is a children's story that is often used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work. Arguably, some critics see it as a metaphor for the American Dream.

The story of David and Goliath can be found in 1 Samuel, chapter 17 of the Holy Bible. It is located in the Old Testament.

Most of my research on the dust bowl can be learned here: .org/farminginthe30s/water_

The board game Monopoly is published by Parker Brothers, a subsidiary of Hasbro. The game is named for the domination of a market by a single entity. Charles Darrow made the game in 1933, and he sold it to Parker Brothers in 1935. The purpose of the game is to teach people how monopolies end up bankrupting the many whilst giving extraordinary wealth to one or few individuals. People loved the game because it made them feel like they had money to play with.

"The North Wind and the Sun" is a fable attributed to Aesop.

A fleur-de-lis is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. In French, fleur means flower and lis means lily. It is most commonly associated with political, dynastic, artistic, and emblematic symbolism, especially in heraldry. The fleur-de-lis is a common symbol in coats of arms and in flags.

I would like to thank my friends for all their help with getting this story off the ground. This time around I decided to go without a proofreader, so we'll see how it goes. Comments are appreciated, especially if I messed up somewhere.

Also, to anyone who reads this long fan fic, thank you very much! After all, if it wasn't for you readers, there would be no point in writing. Now give your weary eyes a break! THANKS!


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